‘I already work my max hours’: Study finds Floridians must work 100 hours a week to afford housing with minimum wage

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Some say it’s almost impossible to find an affordable house in Florida.

A new report from the National Low Income Housing Commission finds the average person working for minimum wage in Florida has to work around 100 hours per week to be able to afford a one bedroom home in the state.

“I already work my max hours, if I get another job on top of school, I’m dead,” Andrew Cevasco said.

Leah Miller works in affordable housing and said she doesn’t know how people are ever going to be able to afford their own housing and ever get out of the rental market.

“I believe it, it’s this, that’s the sad thing is that today’s wages are not at all equal to what it costs to live here,” Miller said. “Prices are increasing, because wages need to go up. And it’s just hard to find that balance. And I’m not sure what needs to give.”

TJ Muller was visiting St. Petersburg on Tuesday and said the numbers from the study are unsustainable.

“I believe it’s a right that people have housing. It’s a basic human right,” Muller said.

The report found renters would have to make $29.33 an hour for a one-bedroom home. At the minimum wage, 117 hours are needed for a two bedroom home.

“I had to move back in with my parents back in Tampa. So I just I can’t afford to live on my own,” Parker Quaquarucci said.

One woman who spoke to us anonymously was in the process of moving to a smaller apartment she could afford. She said she thinks the housing crisis is only getting worse.

“Each year I have to either consider moving or having to pay more rent,” she said. “I’ve been having to work extra hours and I had to get another job.”

St. Petersburg has new apartment buildings and massive developments wanting to come to the area. There’s been back and forth on the Gas Plant District redevelopment and the new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays. Part of the project would bring in 1,250 affordable housing units, that aim to rent friendly. There are some people who are all for the project, but others say it’s not enough.

“Nobody wants that. We have one already. People want housing,” Cevasco said.

“There’s a multitude of data that we don’t need to be putting money into a new stadium, we need to be putting money into housing,” Williams Kilgore said.

Kilgore has been fighting the new stadium and advocating for affordable housing since the pandemic in 2020.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous when we have a housing crisis of that magnitude. You’re just giving a big handout to these corporations. We think it’s egregious,” Kilgore said.

Jasmine and Anthony Davis told us they have to downsize and can’t let their kids play in after school sports because the cost of living in St. Petersburg is too much.

“Between the two of us, we work about what? Six jobs, three jobs a piece,” Jasmine said. “People have to choose between having a house or transportation these days.”

They aren’t too excited for the plans for the Gas Plant district and new stadium.

“In an area where property values are going up, everything else is food, transportation, gas, etc. So if you have affordable housing, they still can’t afford utilities or the utilities to live,” Anthony said.

These people are hoping for economic relief sooner than later.

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